From a distance, it’s hard to see all the details of a hockey game. Hence this item from Friday morning’s Pioneer Press, describing the Minnesota Wild’s first goal in an overtime loss to Buffalo.

“(Benoit) Pouliot tied the score 1-1 9:57 into the second period when he stopped a Derek Boogaard pass with his glove and set himself up for a chip shot from the corner of the crease.”

Boogaard was credited with an assist, but that’s not exactly how it happened.

The Wild enforcer confessed Friday that he was shooting into an open net but instead hit teammate Craig Weller on the back of the leg.

“Then it bounced over to Benny, and Benny grabbed it out of the air and shot,” he explained.

But if it wasn’t quite as pretty, or even on purpose, as it initially appeared, it’s beside the point. The point is Boogaard was crashing the net with his 6-foot-7, 260-pound frame, shooting the puck and making something happen.

Pouliot’s goal swung momentum Minnesota’s way in a 4-3 overtime loss to the NHL’s best team, and it started with a Boogaard shot, ahem, on goal.

“We’ll say he made a sick pass,” Pouliot said.

It was Boogaard’s second assist in five games, increasing his point production markedly over last season. OK, so he didn’t have any points last season, but again — that’s not the point. He’s healthy, in shape and playing.

Finally.

Last year wasn’t a good one — just 34 games because of a chronic back injury. That’s the worst that can happen for an enforcer, who can fulfill part of his job by simply suiting up. But the zero points hurt, too.

“It’s always at the back of your head when the end of the year shows up and you’ve got zeros across the board,” he said. “That’s never a good thing, no matter what you do.”

Coach Jacques Lemaire isn’t quite ready to declare Boogaard a finished product, but he is playing him consistently, which wasn’t happening at this time last season. Boogaard has played in all five of the Wild’s games, and outside of a 29-second performance in Atlanta, he’s averaging nearly six minutes in ice time.

“I’m asking him to do certain things,” Lemaire said. “When he does them, I feel comfortable. When he doesn’t do it, I can’t play him.”

And that would be …

“When he goes in the offensive zone, we want him to shoot the puck at the net, stop in front of the net — this is where he’s going to get his points,” assistant coach Mario Tremblay said. “And we want him to stay in top shape because he’s got good speed and he’s got to use it on the outside. But he’s got to stay in shape all the time. He knows his job.”

Boogaard says he’s in the best shape of his life thanks to an active summer that included cycling, boxing and working with kettle bells.

Lemaire had some fun with Boogaard’s attempt to score on Thursday, saying, “When he got the puck, the net was wide open, and there were two sets of legs — and he hit one of them! And it went back to Benoit, in the air.”

In the end, though, the coach conceded, “It turned out to be a great pass.”

That’s the bottom line.

Briefly: Marian Gaborik did not practice with the team Friday and, barring a miracle, won’t play tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He hasn’t played since Oct. 14 at Atlanta because of a lower body injury.

The Wild expect to activate Owen Nolan from the injured list so he can play tonight. He last played at Atlanta, leaving in the first period because of a leg injury.

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